Green Bay Packers Rookie Cornerback Micah Hyde an Early Star

By Julian Rogers

Benny Sieu – USA TODAY Sports

On the fourth day of training camp, the Green Bay Packers are already scrambling to get enough bodies on the field at wide receiver and defensive back.

With veterans Tramon Williams, Sean Richardson and Casey Hayward missing practice, rookie cornerback Micah Hyde is making the most of his opportunities to show coaches he belongs in the NFL. As reported by ESPN.com, Hyde took the field with the No. 1 base defense today.

Packers head coach Mike McCarthy is glad Hyde is available and performing so well. He quickly called out Hyde’s performance when asked about his impressions from the team’s first padded practice on Sunday. “If you asked me one player who stood out today, I’d say it was Micah Hyde,” McCarthy said. ”I thought he got off to a good start.”

Hyde has four veteran cornerbacks ahead of him on the depth chart (Williams, Hayward, Sam Shields and Davon House) but as a fifth-round selection in this year’s draft, he has the inside track on a likely fifth cornerback spot. His role with the starting defense is encouraging, but Hyde will still likely need to make an impression on special teams to make the final roster, where veteran Jarrett Bush is entrenched.

After missing the first three practices, cornerback House is now practicing today for the first time.

On Monday, general manager Ted Thompson announced three roster moves: the addition of safety Chris Banjo and wide receiver Omarius Hines and the release of safety Ryan McMahon. Banjo was waived by the Jacksonville Jaguars last week after signing as a free agent with them in April. Hines was released by the Baltimore Ravens last week after spending less than two months with them. McMahon was released from the Packers after only three practices.

The Packers currently stand at 89 players on their roster and could soon add one more to get to the 90-man limit.

Julian Rogers is an NFL writer for RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter (@mrturophile), or connect with him on Facebook and Google.